The Art of Looking Outside

From where I’m sitting on my bed, I can look out the door that leads onto my balcony, and there is a jacaranda tree. It’s very purple. Very beautiful. From here, it kind of looks like many vibrant grapes clumped together, but as you walk closer you can see soft petals, delicate flowers. I like this.

There are many petals scattered on the grass beneath, and this is joyous. I would walk barefoot among the flower petals, but there’s a risk in getting a bindy (is that how you spell it?) stuck in your toe.

I think it does people well to look outside. To go outside. To breathe in the fresh air and notice a plant, a flower, a tree, the grass. To see a bird fly overhead. To look at the clouds and remember they look different every single day, that the sunset looks different every single day, that the sky is a different shade of blue every single day.

Isn’t it amazing?

Most of the time, the photos I take of nature don’t do the real thing justice. I think God wanted it this way. Obviously proper photographers make everything look amazing, but for me, I think God just wants me to experience the real thing without taking a photo then walking away. He wants me to enjoy it as it is, regardless of whether something will look heaps great on Instagram.

Nature refills an empty tank, just breathing it in. As we all know, I’m not an especially hike-y person, but going for a walk or walking barefoot in the grass or climbing a tree (all on my own terms, naturally) really does clear your head and heart.

I usually underestimate the power of a pretty flower or a funky plant or a massive tree. But when I take the time to properly take in the world around me, I’m in awe. I really am.